The State Department is claiming that about 100 Americans are left stranded in Afghanistan. As pointed out by a reporter, that number has been used by the State Department for weeks now. A rescue worker is disputing that number and says there is “definitely” more than that trapped in Afghanistan. Either Tony Blinken and others at the State Department are lying or they simply don’t have a handle on how many Americans and green card holders are still left behind. It’s probably both.

According to a senior State Department official, there are still about 100 American citizens and lawful permanent residents in Afghanistan who are ready to leave, but the official said that number is in flux every day.

— Ali Rogin (@AliRogin) September 27, 2021

re: what "in flux" means, here's a bit more from the official: "We’re dealing with human behavior so people change their minds, take advantage of other options they may have to get out … we were tracking a pool of Amcits in and around Mazar who wanted to leave…

— Ali Rogin (@AliRogin) September 27, 2021

The important context here is that State said weeks ago that there were 100 Amcits left. What we don’t know is how many of this cohort are the same, but the official did say some more people have reached out recently saying they are now ready to leave https://t.co/yhrOmhOcAt

— Ali Rogin (@AliRogin) September 27, 2021

The Biden administration has given up all control of the situation, as we’ve seen, to the Taliban, and it is essentially up to volunteers – many who are veterans – to help get the Americans and Afghan helpers out of the country. One such volunteer is Jean Marie Thrower who works with the Afghan Rescue Crew. She’s an Army veteran. She’s appalled by the words and actions coming from the Biden administration.

“Definitely, there are more than the hundred that is being stated. We have multiple groups working together with teams with rosters of people, and we continue to scrub those rosters to make sure we know where these people are at,” Thrower said. “I do want to say as a veteran, quickly, that I’m appalled at our administration and how they have disrespected Americans and our allies, as well as put our soldiers’ future operations in jeopardy.”

“We have the evidence out there. We are talking to these people. We have American children. We have children being born that are really under American citizenship, technically. So, there are a lot of different things,” Thrower said.

She is trying to work with the Biden administration but isn’t having much success with that.

“I’ve stated that numerous times that we are totally willing to work with them. I know that they might be working with some other groups as well, but we still haven’t seen any movement. It’s very slow moving … people don’t have time for that,” she said. “They are being executed, killed, hunted as well as we also have Americans who are being in safe houses that are scared they might be made an example of so it’s very dangerous for everybody there and we do not have a lot of time.”

It’s important to listen to the stories of those involved. The withdrawal from Afghanistan was so catastrophic that it must never again be repeated. The credibility and trustworthiness of America and our military have been gravely damaged. Biden betrayed our NATO allies, the Afghan people working alongside our troops, and our embassy staff. Biden was so obsessed with making a cheap political point – being able to say America was out of Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of 9/11/01 – that he just wanted the U.S. out, consequences be damned. These people speaking out now are the only hope those left behind have. The Biden administration isn’t going to rescue them. Biden’s callous approach to the situation was on display when he boasted during his speech at the U.N. that America has “turned the page” on Afghanistan. Imagine how that phrase must have been received by those still stranded in Afghanistan.

Contrary to the narrative coming from Team Biden, the Taliban is not interested in cooperating with the United States or any other country that is trying to get its people out. Those left behind should be considered hostages because that is what they are.

“The biggest constraint to the departure of our citizens and others from Afghanistan, of course, remains the Taliban’s unpredictability, regarding who is permitted to depart,” a senior State Department official told reporters during a background briefing Monday.

“The second big constraint is the absence of regular commercial air service to enable folks who wish to depart to do so in a predictable manner,” they added.

"The biggest constraint to the departure of our citizens and others from #Afghanistan, of course, remains the #Taliban's unpredictability, regarding who is permitted to depart," said a senior @StateDept official. About 100 US citizens & LPRs are ready to leave Afghan.@VOANews

— VOA Nike Ching 张蓉湘 (@rongxiang) September 27, 2021

"The second big constraint is the absence of regular commercial air service [at #hkia] to enable folks who wish to depart to do so in a predictable manner," added the senior @StateDept official. @VOANews

— VOA Nike Ching 张蓉湘 (@rongxiang) September 27, 2021

Who would still have faith in the competence of the Biden administration? The State Department officials say they regularly communicate with private groups working to get Americans out of Afghanistan, only 85 Americans have been allowed to leave the country since August 31 by the department’s own admission. This catastrophe was avoidable. The testimony today to the Senate Armed Services Committee by the generals and the Secretary of Defense verified one thing – Biden was advised that the Taliban would quickly take over Afghanistan and he was advised to leave about 2,000 troops in the country. Joe Biden lied and 13 Americans died at the Kabul airport. No one has been held accountable, especially the one with whom the buck stops – Joe Biden.

Under oath, Generals Milley & McKenzie confirmed they recommended against President Biden’s withdrawal timeline and warned him about the impending collapse of the Afghan government.

That contradicts Biden, who claimed “no one said that to me.” pic.twitter.com/BaPEHEFCHU

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 28, 2021